| Popular | Scholarly | |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Staff writer; journalist | Expert in the field; known credentials |
| Audience | General public | Scholars, researchers |
| Language | Little technical language or subject-specific jargon | Uses technical language and subject-specific jargon |
| Coverage | Broad topics; shallow coverage; shorter length | Narrow topics; in-depth coverage; longer length |
| Documentation | Usually no bibliography | Bibliography present |
| Peer-reviewed? | No | Often |
Where do U.S. government sources fall? (url ends in .gov)
Government websites, documents, and reports are sometimes scientific and technical, and are sometimes written for the general public. Either way, they are generally considered reliable and credible.
What about sources originating from U.S. colleges and universities? (url ends in .edu)
Similar to government sources, sources found on U.S. college and university websites are sometimes scientific and technical, and are sometimes written for the general public. They are more reliable and credible than many .coms, but take extra care to evaluate them.